McLaren Secure 2025 World Constructors’ Championship at Singapore Grand Prix

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The 2025 Formula 1 Season officially has a World Constructors’ Champion, McLaren. McLaren defend their championship win from the 2024 season and they go back-to-back. The clinching of the championship comes after the 2025 Singapore Grand Prix, a race which McLaren did not win. However, due to the points that McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri scored, it became mathematically impossible for any other team to catch them. 

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As for the race weekend, the Singapore Grand Prix is celebrated annually at the Marina Bay Street Circuit. It is a night race and due to the race normally happening in October, the tropical climate of Singapore(extreme heat and humidity) creates intense conditions for drivers. The track is also known for being one of the longest and most tricky on the F1 calendar. 

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The race weekend started off with the first practice session in which Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso topped the charts. The second and third practice sessions were topped by McLaren driver Oscar Piastri and Red Bull driver Max Verstappen respectively. In the qualifying session, both Williams Racing drivers, Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz, were disqualified from the qualifying due to DRS infringements. Both were still allowed to race despite the infringements but Carlos Sainz had to start from the back of the grid and Alex Albon was forced to start from the pit lane. One of the surprises from the qualifying session was young Haas driver Oliver Bearman reaching Q3 and qualifying P9 (ninth place), the best of his career. Bearman has had some recent struggles so it was good for him to reach Q3. Current championship leader Oscar Piastri qualified in P3, a disappointing position considering he is the current favorite to win the championship and is in the best car. His teammate Lando Norris also had a disappointing qualifying session qualifying in P5. Norris is currently trying to catch Piastri in the championship so qualifying P5 is not ideal for him. Red Bull driver and current champion, Max Verstappen, qualified in P2 for the race. Mercedes driver George Russell took pole position for the race, his first since the Canadian Grand Prix back in June. As well as the pole position, Russell set a new all time fastest lap record at the Singapore Grand Prix.

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In the race, George Russell would convert his pole position into his second win of the season. With this win, Russell maintains his position as fourth in the current Drivers Championship standings. He is currently not a contender for the championship despite the win. In second place, Max Verstappen took home 18 points which helped his championship aspirations. This also closes the gap between Verstappen and Lando Norris who finished in third place but is second in the overall championship. As for the championship leader, Oscar Piastri finished in fourth place and took 12 points, enough for McLaren to clinch the World Constructors’ Championship, continuing a dominant season for McLaren who currently hold a 325 point lead over second place constructor Mercedes. But the question remains: can Verstappen do enough in the remaining 6 races to defend his title and catch up to Norris and Piastri?